When he was thirty-seven, Marc Levy wrote a story for the man that his son would grow up to be. His sister, a screenwriter, encouraged him to send the manuscript to Editions Robert Laffont, who immediately decided to publish If Only it Were True. In 1999, after selling the film rights to Steven Spielberg for Dreamworks, he left his architectural firm to dedicate himself to writing. In 2001, he published his second book, Ou es-tu? (Will You Be There ), followed by Sept jours pour une éternité... (Seven Days for an Eternity) in 2003, La prochaine fois (In Another Life) in 2004 and Vous revoir (Finding You) in 2005. The year 2005 also saw the release of Just Like Heaven, the adaptation by Dreamworks of Et si c'était vrai..., starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. Où es-tu? has been adapted in a mini series for television, and his novel Mes Amis mes Amours (London, Mon Amour) was adapted into a feature film, released in France on 2 July 2008; Children of Freedom was published in France in 2007, All those things we never said in 2008.The First Day, his ninth novel, was published in France on 25 June 2009. The First Night, the sequel to The First Day, on 2 December 2009. The Shadow Thief, was published in France on June 17, 2010.His most recent novel, The Strange Journey of Mr Daldry was published in France on April 21, 2011.The combined worldwide sales of his ten novels, translated in 41 languages, have achieved the 20 million copy mark. Marc Levy is the most-read French author in the world. (Source for all rankings and figures: Ipsos / Livres Hebdo/Le Figaro)